In broadcast communications equipment installations, such as in a studio or production facility, it is common to have patch panels to interconnect a variety of signal sources with a variety of downstream processing, recording and broadcast equipment. These patch panels may mount jacks in paired combinations to provide input and output circuits to each piece of equipment. Also, these paired arrangements may include a single jack connected to a monitor circuit mounted adjacent to the jack pairs. Depending on the size and complexity of the installation, these patch panels may have a single paired set of jacks or may include many paired sets in a dense configuration. Other installation may include a single jack when patching with jack pairs is not required or for connecting to monitor circuits in a location separate from the patching jack pairs.
Some of the paired jacks may be combined into a switching jack pair while other pairs may be two straight through jacks mounted adjacent each other. The jack pairs in a switching jack may have a rigid housing about them to contain both of the jacks of the pair as well as the switching circuitry between the jacks. U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,096 shows an example switching jack. This rigid housing also provides support to the jacks themselves and helps to prevent deflection of the jacks. Individual straight through jacks mounted adjacent one another in pairs do not share such a housing. Strain from the cables attached to the jacks may cause the jacks to deflect. In some cases, the jacks deflect enough to come into contact with each other or other adjacently mounted jacks.
Improvements to the jacks are desirable.